A lot focus is being placed on Wigan Athletic to take something from their match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but what a lot of pundits -not Sir Alex Ferguson - are overlooking the challenge presented by Stoke.As it has been well-documented throughout the week, both Wigan boss Roberto Martinez and their Chairman, Dave Whelan, have both stated that they will not roll over and just give Chelsea this year's title - sort of like what Liverpool did.
Wigan shocked Chelsea 3-1 at the DW Stadium in September, but it is not foreseeable for them to get all three points, because they have been very poor this season on their trips to London, which included a 9-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.
To win the title, United need to win against Stoke City and have Chelsea either draw OR lose against Wigan, and neither outcome is guaranteed.
Flashback
United made the short trek to the Britannia Stadium in September, and they came away with all three points following a 2-0 victory.
United completely dominated the match, but they were unable to find a breakthrough until the introduction of Ryan Giggs for Nani ten minutes after half-time.
In contrasting form to now, Nani struggled to have an impact and breakdown a second-rate Stoke City defense, but the ageless Giggs opened up the Stoke defense just five minutes after coming on.
The Welshman weaved through the Stoke penalty and slotted the ball to Dimitar Berbatov for the simplest of tap-ins - something that eluded him last week against Sunderland.
Then 13 minutes from time, the points were secured when Giggs' free-kick was met perfectly and headed home by John O'Shea.
The player of the match against Stoke City was Paul Scholes, because of the way he bossed the tempo of the play, and because of his precise passing, United out possessed the Potters 69%-31%, which limited them to just one chance on goal.
About
Stoke has been claimed to be an overly physical team, but Tony Pulis' men are very well-disciplined - despite what Arsene Wenger says - and they mainly reflect their manager's no non-sense approach.
Since they won promotion from the Championship following the 2007/08 season, Pulis has done quite well to keep his team in the Premier League.
Stoke finished 12th in their first-ever season in the Premier League, thanks to grinding out results and making the Brtiannia a formidable fortress.
They are currently 10th in the standings, but depending on other results from the clubs around them in the table, the Potters could finish as high as ninth or as low as 13th.
Pulis is running into a problem with a couple of his players - Tuncay Şanlı and Dave Kitson - lately, because both of them reacted poorly and immaturely to be taken off in recent matches, and it is unlikely that either of those players will be at Stoke next season.
Stoke's biggest problem has been their lack of goals, which has seen them only score 34 in 37 matches this season, and their leading goal scorer is a midfielder.
Matthew Etherington is their leading goal scorer with just five goals, and Şanlı has notched four. Their three best forwards - Kitson, Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie - have only tallied three goals apiece in the Premier League.
Stoke's 34 goals scored, which equal to Wayne Rooney's season total, are only second to Wolverhampton's 30 for the worst return in the Premier League, but the most astonishing part is that they have not been hauled in the relegation battle because of this.
Their 72 goals in their two seasons in the Premier League are 10 short of the 82 goals that United have scored this season alone.
Who
One of Stoke's most consistent players since their promotion into the Premier League has been former United youngster Ryan Shawcross.
The tall, physical defender was highly-rated by Sir Alex, which is why he instilled in the transfer deal a "first option clause, as well as a sell-on fee if Stoke were to sell the defender to bigger club.
Against Arsenal, Shawcross' late challenge broke the leg of Aaron Ramsey, which saw him receive a red card and a three-match suspension.
Shawcross and former Chelsea defender, Robert Huth, have formed a formidable central defensive partnership, and the two have seen Stoke only give up 44 goals this season - tied for 8th in the league.
Another player that has been very influential in Stoke's success in the past two season is the contribution of Rory Delap, and the Irishman's long throw-in has led to numerous goal scoring opportunities for his teammates.
News
Sir Alex has announced that Jonny Evans has signed a new long-term deal to keep the young center back at United until 2014, but the manager has said that a couple of players could be on their way out of Old Trafford.
Ben Foster, who failed to stake his claim on being Edwin van der Sar's back-up, will more than likely be looking for a club where he will be able to lock down first-team football, which has more than likely caused him a place in England's 2010 World Cup squad.
Berbatov, who has a love-hate relationship with the United supporters, is another player who may or may not be at Old Trafford next year, because many see him as a hindrance to the attack.
As United supporters saw last week, the return of Owen Hargreaves should give him the confidence to positively contribute to the team not only against Stoke, but also for seasons to come.
As Sir Alex Ferguson said Manchester United are "clutching straws" in their attempts to secure their unprecedented fourth straight Barclays Premier League title, but if they do win the trophy, it will be one of their greatest-ever accomplishments.
Treatment
Out: M. Owen (hamstring), Anderson (knee); Doubtful: A. Valencia (ankle)
Projected
E. van der Sar; G. Neville, J. Evans, N. Vidic, P. Evra; Nani, P. Scholes, D. Fletcher, R. Giggs; W. Rooney, F. Macheda
Prediction
Manchester United 2, Stoke City 0
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